President Joe Biden on Thursday touted the “progress” made in offshore wind during his term, even as the industry struggles considerably with rising inflation and interest rates.
Biden: Official Statement Biden on Thursday celebrated his administration's 10th offshore wind development approval, touting policies to encourage developers to build new projects — but made no mention of the industry as a whole struggling with high inflation, high interest rates, logistical traps and broken supply chains. hindranceAll of this combines to make developers Postponed Or they cancel projects or try to renegotiate important contracts.
“When I took office, the United States had zero approved offshore wind projects in federal waters and the industry was struggling to get a foothold,” Biden's statement read. “But now, following my Administration's investment in a clean energy future, the private sector has mobilized and the federal government has approved 10 offshore wind projects – enough to power more than 5 million homes and half the capacity needed to reach our goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.” (Related story: Biden-subsidized offshore wind developers report huge losses in latest blow to industry)
'We are overwhelmed': Fishermen protest offshore wind after turbine failure spews debris into Atlantic Ocean https://t.co/njXmRhUEfZ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 28, 2024
“From manufacturing and shipbuilding to port operations and construction, this industry supports tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs, provides reliable, clean electricity to homes and businesses, strengthens the electric grid against outages, and helps reduce pollution — all while protecting biodiversity and marine ecosystems,” the president's statement continues. “We will continue to partner with industry, tribes, ocean users, and other stakeholders to support American-made supply chains, encourage union-built projects, and seize additional clean energy technology opportunities.”
The Biden administration Billions Taxpayer funds to help industry meet 2030 targets goal President Biden's signature climate change bill, the Controlling Inflation Act, would provide lucrative tax credit subsidies for the offshore wind industry to qualifying developers.
But more offshore wind capacity has been canceled or postponed than is currently operational or on hold, according to an analysis of the data by Ed O'Donnell, a former nuclear engineer and now principal at a New Jersey-based consulting firm. White Strand ConsultingMoreover, the American Clean Power Association said in a July report that only 14 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity will actually be operational by 2030, and the 30 gigawatt standard may not be met until 2033.
Orsted, a major offshore wind developer, has canceled two major projects off the coast of New Jersey in October 2023. Similar delays and cancellations have affected projects that were scheduled to come online off the coast of Maryland and New York. In July, a faulty blade broke on one of Vineyard Wind's turbines, sending a ton of debris into the Atlantic Ocean. Several beaches near Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, were forced to temporarily close after pieces of fiberglass began washing up on shore.
“There is no economic justification for using offshore wind as a market-based source of electricity, and there are a lot of problems with it, but it cannot survive,” O'Donnell previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Offshore wind is only surviving on subsidies in the form of huge federal tax credits and offshore wind rate subsidies from states and their ratepayers. So they're struggling because there's a limit to how much of this can have an economic impact and how much they can pass on to taxpayers and ratepayers.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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